By Nokia choosing to use WP7 as the OS, Microsoft will make money off of all the apps sold for the device. Had Nokia gone with Meego, everyone would have purchased their apps from OVI, and Nokia would have gotten a larger cut than they will get from WP7 based apps, as Microsoft would not have taken any cut from the sale. I am unaware of how the deal stands, but I am sure that Nokia would be lucky to receive any money from apps bought for the WP7 OS. Even if Nokia keep OVI, it is likely that the WP7 user will use the windows app store instead thus Nokia makes nothing from apps. 

MeeGo requires more technical skills, because it is so easy to play around with. There is no warning against applications that compete for the same resources – e.g. the sensor. It is so easy just to install a new “Camera” application that makes it impossible to use the old “Camera” and of course also the main video, in particular, the front camera used by Skype. It is all software, coded by mortals capable of misunderstandings.

With Linux, Nokia needs to develop tools that detect conflicting software, and probably remove a lot of features/code to obtain stability needed in a commercial device. It is “open source” unlike Windows and iOS. Maemo is 3 year ahead on this road, so had I been Mr. Elop, I would returned to safe ground, Maemo and tried to merge this with Ubuntu Netbook distribution. That can open for a huge distribution.

So far, Nokia N900 is the only phone on the market that runs the Office applications. Microsoft has a strange notion that a mobile phone is a peripheral, like a headset with a mike on the USB port of a PC. My mobile phone is in my pocket, and access 2 IMAP accounts, links to my office LAN as a PC and mounts “shares” – and allows Windows PC link to its shares.

I lack MS Project, but hope to get the Linux “Planner” running.I can make my presentation from my phone, interface my home entertainment center, surf the net, and polish the presentation with last minute updates. I can play around with my spreadsheets, read and edit the contract – and forward this as a securly locked PDF document.

The UI on the N9 is far from brilliant, but since it is Linux, any artist can make their own “Themes” better than Nokia’s. Again, just look at the N900 running Maemo/Hildon and compare what you get today to what was around when the phone was launched.

Just as Symbian was available to everyone (against a tiny fee to its originators such as Psion), Linux is free. There will not be any licensing costs going to Finland or the US should you develop a killer application, and distribute this in millions. The payment for the application will hit your pocket, while Nokia gets the profit from selling another mobile device, and your operator can charge for network usage. This is the mobile “ecosystem” – which does not include, Apple, Google or Microsoft. They are leeches that tries to jump on a wave and will die with it.

The Maemo is so close to Ubuntu, that they should rather participate here. But Trolltech that makes the Qt use KDE.

Seriously loved the analogy, though!!!

To thoseof you that use Windows, this is like different themes – White or Black, but one supports swipes with two fingers, the other just with one. Anyway, Windows users can just swipe with one. Both Hildon and Harmattan runs 32/64 bit and supports the same streaming media as Windows.Both interface easily with Windows. Hilldon is tested, bugs removed and enhanced, and bluntly use less resources. Harmattan supports new gags, contains new bugs but support more functions/swipes/gestures. The N9 can also support other interfaces, such as “Active Plasma”. The problem is that white text on a white background is just as difficult to read as black text on a black background. The kernel is well protected from computer viruses, the kernel debugger cannot be accesses and cannot be used to dump your address book in none of them. 

Those of you that use MacOS – Meamo compares with MacOS, just that the Window Manager is not OSX, but Hildon. The functionality of Harmattan is not supported by SnowLeopard nor the new Lion. With Linux comes the same virus protection as on MacOS, and the same command-line interface as on the Mac. The Mac use a command language identical to Meamo, KDE is not available on MacOS.

The difference is like Protestants and Catholics, they are both Christians but slighly different.

Now what can Nokia learn of their N900: This has “Macuco” browser that emulates the iPhone browser (well it also runs Opera and Firefox/Iceweasel), it runs Android through dual boot. So if you really need an Android “app” – start NITroid, Android 4.3. Need to access BBC’s newsfeed for iPhone – install Macuco. It is “Winnie the Pooh” of them all – “Yes, I will take both”.

The N900 is the only mobile around that is a complete PC. Here you can run OpenOffice, you can play around with your spreadsheets, and any Linux application that runs under a GNOME windows manager (almost everyone) can just be recompiled for ARM copied and re-linked on the mobile. 48GB is enough storage for large applications, so why not get Oracle to make a version available, then SAP will follow to make the packages “mobile”. The database systems have utilities to “replicate” as needed.Now beside the money that MS pays Nokia for making a mobile phone that runs WP7, give me one other reason to strike an alliance with MS. Beware, N900 will also run Windows/XP (and MacOS “Snowleopard”, no iOS here).